


Fake Smiles and Broken Masks

by Odium333



Category: Avengers, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abusive howard, Anxiety, Child Abuse, Howard Stark’s A+ Parenting, Insecure Tony, M/M, Misunderstood Tony Stark, Peggy is the best, Poor Tony, So is Steve, Tony Has Issues, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony needs protection, abused Tony, and he gets one, child rape, tony is very bi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-18 07:19:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14848238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odium333/pseuds/Odium333
Summary: Everyone knows who Tony Stark is: that asshole on the news, that genius guy that’s a bit of a dick, that friend you sort of put up with but when the team are kidnapped and a few things are revealed about Tony’s childhood via magic spells, the team must reevaluate a lot of their opionions on his ‘petty, spoilt’ personality.





	1. A river of shit

**Author's Note:**

> Now this is my first contribution to the MCU so I’m a bit unsure of how to get into the flow of writing but I do love some good ol’ Tony whump so here I am. There will be a trigger warning put in place for all chapters (or most of them anyway)

A river shit- that pretty much summed up Tony’s day nicely, running on 2 hours sleep and coffee, it couldn’t exactly be helped when the heavy blow to his head immediately sent him to dream land. There had been 7 intruders, muscles visable through the black jumpers and beady eyes shone through the holes in their matching balaclavas. They had slipped into the tower, armed with heavy artillery and a baseball bat. It was unexpected, even with Natasha’s deadly instincts they were all still hit round the head, leaving a nasty thumping for days, and pushed into the back of a van.

When Tony came to, he was sat with his back against a metal wall, his hands shackled. He could feel the dry blood matted in his hair and stuck to the side of his face- looking round, no one else was in better shape, Clint was moaning deliriously and Steve was sporting a rather wicked scowl. “How long I been out?” He rasped, it was meant to be cocky, maybe even  ~~annoying~~ charming but instead it sounded  _weak, pathetic._ Steve’s blue eyes met his “I don’t know but everyone’s up now.” It wasn’t meant as an insult but the underlying truth was, he was the last one to recover,  _the weakest._ He’d barely got a hold of his surroundings, He was to the far right, hunched in a corner of a metal room- a stench of blood and sweat hanging in the air when a chipper humming broke the painful sound of Natasha trying to slip out of her restraints. “Hey there, now this is all very cliché,” his hair was black, streaks of grey ran through it and his eyes crinkled with a smile but there was a darkness in his amber eyes, a sadistic hunger “but 10 million would be a welcome treat. Ya get it, right Stark.” He asked, looking innocently at the relating man. “Oh is that all?” Once again is sounded weak, not the usual sarcastic taints that flowed from Tony’s mouth. “Well, your company would be nice but that’s slightly suspicious isn’t it? Now you’re all proabably wondering  _what’s he gonna do. Torture us?_ ” His voice didnt math the statement ,it was filled with humour- pleasure even. “Well you’re not totally wrong, you see I got my hands on something pretty cool earlier, I’m gonna show you some stuff and if you’re not going to comply then sorry- the public knows.” Tony forces himself to swallow his fear and smirked at the man “a movie?Oh Honeybear, How did you know that’s my dream first date?” Sarasm dripped from every word.

A chuckle bounced off the walls of the small room as the man laughed, a pleasant laugh- not a phsyco laugh, it was the laugh of a dad whose kid told them they wanted a unicorn for Christmas, it was patronising. “I knew there was a reason I liked you, Mr Stark. You’re a laugh, such a shame I’ve got to show your friends just how screwed up you are.” Deep voice now laced with venom, the man slammed the door behind him before Tony could even respond. Concerned, confused gazes pointed themselves at Tony “Hey man, what was that phsyco on about?” Clint’s voice was warm, like a hot chocolate- comforting but it didn’t break through the wave of cold panic that was rolling over the genius. His breaths came out in short rasps and his body began to shake as his hands balled into fists and his face turned pale. “Tony.” Natasha had seen enough panic attacks to recognise one but  _Tony?_ He was the cool one, the ‘I’m always fine’ guy yet here he was, almost crying “come on breath in and out.” She tried to show him but the shackles stopped her from getting closer and he was forced to try and carm his own breathing, alone. 

As the pants eventually turned back into rasps the team immediately began to question him, the most common being “what was that Tony?” But soon the questioning changed from concern to curiosity “what’s he gonna show us?” And “what happened to you?” But no answer was given just a shaky smile. For the first time, the team noticed somethings about Tony, the small scar above his lip, the refusal to take things, the dark bags and dead eyes and suddenly screwed up didn’t seem a bad way to describe the shaking man before them. “I’m fine guys, seriously, it can’t be that bad- right.” He see,ed to be talking to himself, even as he addressed the team, his eyes were glassy and they were staring at the floor- not meaning anyone’s worried gaze. Although, the reassurance was soon cut shirt by the loud slamming of the door again and the happy humming of the smiling phsyco. “Sorry ‘bout that wait guys. Some idiot misplaced  _it_ and well let’s just say he’s not making that mistake again” his shirt was red with blood and a blood lust still clear in his eyes. “Now,” Hey valpped his hands together “let’s get this started, how does that sound?” He was technical asking a question but it left no room for an answer, just a a horribleness sense of dread growing in Tony’s chest...

 


	2. Realisation hits Steve’s like a truck

In the man’s tanned hand was a staff-like object. It was black and a blue sphere was held by a mass of twisted spikes and spines. “Now without further ado, let the show begin!” The beaming man took an exaggerated bow and began to take large, heavy strides towards the struggling genius. As soon as he was in arm’s length he stretched out the now glowing staff and lightly tapped it against the blood-covered forehead of Tony. The light tap caused spasms of pain, not only from the head wound but a new, stabbing pain that left him biting his lip as not to scream. As the pain stopped the room began to shift, changing from grey to a creamy white, tables with scraps began to fade in and the figure of a man could be seen hunched over the furthest table. “Now, I do ask you not to interfere- not that it will do much but it does block my view.” The man's voice rang with a not-so-innocent glee,like a child on their birthday.

Steve sent a confused glance his way but before he could ask what was happening they’d were interrupted by the sound of a small child’s excited yells. “Daddy-look I made a circui’ board!”a small boy ran into the newly created room, he had a mop of curly dark hair, his face was pale and dirt stuck to him in clumps and his dark eyes shone with pride. He was small, his Captain America T-shirt almost reached his knees but he was still managing to carry the contraption as he ran. “Tony,” the man’s gruff voice was tense but the name caused a sudden realisation in all the team- the small, Captain America fanboy was _their_  Tony Stark and from the startling similarities they guessed the man was the father, Howard Stark. “How many times have I told you not to Domenic in my my lab?” The man’s voice raised to a yell by the end of his question, causing a flinch fom Tony and an unsettled feeling in Steve’s stomach. The younger Stark now had tears building up in his eyes but the upset seemed to anger Howard more as his glare intensified “Are you crying?” The man’s voice was quiet, deadly dripped with hate. The child brought his Tony first to his eyes and wiped away the liquid, trying to hide the tears from his so called father. “I’m sorry sir. I just wanted to show you I uh- I made a circuit board.” Fear hanging off every word, the boy tried to smile up at the glaring man but it ending up looking more like a grimace. “A circuit board huh?” The man's voice was quiet as he took the board from the short child in front of him. “And how,” his voice was rising again “ is this fucking going to find Steve?! You think I care about this? You proud of this boy?? If Steve were here he’d agree with me- this is useless _you’re_ useless.” Spittle was flying everywhere and the horrified choke that came from Steve’s mouth when his named was used was awfully out of character.

“But Da-“ the boy’s trembling voice was cut off with a harsh slap to the cheek, causing him to cry out and tumble to the floor. Howard’s hand grabbed the neck of the now sobbing Tony’s shirt “fucking disappointment.” He hissed as he delivered a punch to Tony’s rib, causing a fresh cry and more tears to pour from his eyes- adult Tony wasn’t much better, tears leaking from his eyes as his team watched in horror, frozen to their spots. “Stark men are made of iron, Tony. Now get out I can’t deal with your shit right now.” Howard released the child, sending him falling to the floor and scrambling to the door. The video followe Tony to his Captain America themed bedroom, posters, toys even the bed spread were all covered in Captain America images. Tony flung himself at the bed and allowed sobs to fill the room, apologies were whispered out in between tears, apologies to his father, to Steve. The image faded back to the metal room, leaving the team in a state of horror. “Tony, what was that?” Steve’s voice was filled with guilt, his voice broke more than it should “Oh my god, all those times I said you should be more like Howard... Tony why didn’t you say something?” No where reponse was formed just a shrug as Tony continued to stare at the floor, trying not to let anymore tears escape. “You guys didn’t think that was it, did ya?” The too happy voice didn’t seem effected by the abuse he witnessed, he was beaming. Tony’s dark eyes met his grey ones and they seemed to beg, a hopeless plea but still the reaction was instinct- begging, Tony seemed to be reduced to this state far too often. “Tony it’s fine, we’re here for okay man?” Clint seemed surprisingly sympathetic as his soothing voice reached the genuis’ ears. But all comfort was gone as the metal began to fade again and he was reduced to mad panic again...


	3. Howard you utter ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rape warning for this chapter, if that’s triggering please skip this chapter.

The walls turned a pale yellow colour as the team were transported into another memory, there appeared to be a stage and rows of seats- filled with clapping parents. Stood behind a podium was a portly woman, her dark hair was tied back in a bun and her eyes shone with a warm kindness. “And the winner is Tony Stark, with his very own RoboDog!” The woman clapped as did the crowd but even the polite claps didn’t mask the whispers and disgusted mutters. The Tony that stepped onto the stage was older, he looked about 6 and his curls were now flattened against his head in a failed attempt to make him look presentable. He wore a shaky smile as he made his way to the woman, accepting the golden trophy she held out to him.His hands shook under the weight of the prize but he managed to hold it until the flash of photos were gone. His smile had widened by the time he was back behind the stage with the other children, that were As until one girl stepped forwards- her hair was brown and frizzy and a yellow dress floated around her knees. “You probably got your Daddy to make tha’ for you. Didn’ you?” She hissed and soon mummers of agreement joined her accusations “His Daddy’s not even here! He wouldn’ make a robot for him!” Cried out a short boy, the statement was met with giggles. Tony simply stood, taking the hurtful comments, his shoulders hunched and face blank. Eventually, a teacher appeared and told the children to go find their parents.

“Miss,” Tony’s voice trembled slightly “my Dad's waiting outside for me.” It was an obvious lie, but the daft woman seemed to believe as she nodded distractedly as she tried to control the hoards of children. Tony hefted up the trophy and made his way to the door but to No onee’s sunrise no car was waiting, instead Tony began to walk along the side of the road. His breaths were soon heavy, after all his tony arms could barely hold the trophy. It was dark by the time Tony got home, starts lighting up the sky and the lights were switched off indoors, his parents had gone to bed and left him to fend for himself. He slipped through the door using the key under the doormat and made it halfway up the stairs before an accident, his Tony legs were tired from an afternoon of walking and he ended up tripping up- sending the trophy all the way back down the wooden stairs, making a defaming clang with each jump. The dark haired boy winced and flinched, shaking as he heard a door slam open and shut again. There stood a fuming Howard Stark, his hand gripped his son and yanked him up the stairs, causing the small body to be banged against the wooden surface. Angry yells and curses began to flood form the man causing the child to sob and whimper, the first time Howard brought his fist time down it was a surprise, the second was a horror, the third was realisation, the fourth was guilt. Howard delivered punch after punch on the trembling mess, eventually using his feet-kicking the ribs and face. By the time he was finished Tony was begging “Please daddy, I’m sorry.. I won’t do it again, I swear!” His pleas blended with his screams of pain. Blood was streaming form his nose and red marks, certain to bruise, covered every inch of his body. “You’re a disgrace, Tony” he hissed venomously as he left the room.

In the real world adult Tony wasn’t in a much better way, tears were streaming and his breaths were quick, uneven rasps. The rest of the team weren’t far from him either, sobs filled the room and from the deadly glare that Bruce was wearing made it apparent he couldn’t turn into The Hulk. “Tony,” Natasha’s voice desperately tried to best the tears “You’ve got to tell us what to expect. Was that the worst.” Tony cried on sobbing only now he was dry heaving as well as he shook his head in response to Natasha’s questioning. His brown eyes were wide, haunted by the past, the usual spark was gone- now only a dead coldness remained even as their captor began to speak again. “Well, you up for another?” There was no time to answer before grey faded into a blue colour.

They were back in Tony’s bedroom, posters still hanging to the wall (Steve sobbed at that) it was dark outside of the small window and a small figure could be seen huddled under the red,blue and white duvet. A quiet creak was the On,y sign that a door had been opened, Howard walked into the room, a white top and a noticeable buldge (Clint threw up all the contents of his his stomach) underneath his baggy trousers “Tony, wake up buddy” his voice was supposed to sound pleasant but the lust was clear “Daddy just wants some fun...” Tony shifted in his bed and sat up, a,ready shaking his head “Daddy pleathe don’ . I’ll find Steve I will, just please no’ again” Tony’s begging was quiet, scared as his ‘dad’ approached him. “ you want to make your Daddy happy don’t you, Tony?” He asked patronisingly   
, to which Tony nodded uncertainly. “ Then dont complain ... for Daddy?” Howard was sat on his bed now, fiddling with his son’s top. The aged man pulled back the duvet, and began to eagerly yank off the small child’s top and bottoms. Both Tonys were sobbing now as Howard began to ease of his trousers...

Howard’s penis was fully erect as he forced his son’s mouth around it, he began to thrust erratically- forcing his child to take the full length, leavjng Tony breathless and choking. Eventually the man came but he wasn’t done, only started, he flipped over his son and placed a firm slap on each cheek, forcing a yelp out the sobbing boy’s abused throat. “Daddy’s good boy.” Howard praised as he lined himself up with Tony’s hole and forced himself all the way in with one swift movement. A scream tore at the poor boy’s throat as his ftpather began to move inside him. Grotesque moans filled the room as the team could do nothing but watch and sob. As Howard finished and blood soaked the child’s thighs the memory began to flicker but the haunting words could still be heard “This is all you good for boy, a good fuck, my perfect little whore.” Steve was openly sobbing, his world had just crashed and burnt around him.


	4. Peggy, you goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I thought better something little than nothing at all. Also thank you for all the kudos and kind comments!

Steve’s head was thumping, a painful ache exploding through his body. Apparently the bash to the head had been harder than he originally thought or maybe it was just watching his friend being abused by a man he looked up to, a man he considered a good person. All those times he had compared Tony to Howard, belittling the man because of the brilliance of his father and in reality Tony was a better man than his father could ever dream to be. He looked over to Tony’s trembling form, his shoulders were hunched and his legs were pressed against his chest, a feeble attempt to make himself smaller. The desperation to go over and hold him, whisper comforts in his ear was unbearable and it grew stronger as grey merged with the cream colour Steve began to associate with pain, unimaginable emotional pain.

This memory was different, Tony’s eyes were sparkling and a pure smile graced his pale face. In front of him stood a woman holding a package wrapped in blue. Her brown hair had a few streaks of grey and her eyes shone warmly as she looked down at the boy, Steve couldn’t hold in a gasp as he realised he was looking at Peggy, wonderful, amazing Peggy. She was now laughing kindly as Tony showed her his newest creation, a prototype dum-E. “Now Tony, I love it but you really must open your gift. It is your birthday after all.” Tony spun around, no longer smiling at his robot “it’s my birthday?” His voice was filled with confusion and Peggy’s face clearly dropped. An obvious fake smile was forced onto Peggy’s face as she reassured the boy and handed him his present. As the wrapping was torn away a Captain Americ doll was revealed but instead of the huge smile and thankyous everyone expected, Tony’s face fell. “Daddy says I’m not allowed Captain America stuff anymore. No’ worth it.” The small boy’s insecure voice was quiet and Peggy had to strain to hear it. A look of horrified shock flashed across the woman’s face but she soon scooped up the boy into a hug and was kissing his forehead “Tony, you’re the most amazing human I know. Come on I’ll tell you that story about Steve you love so much okay.” She whispered as she carefully pulled the boy’s hand, leading the pair towards a chair and the room began to fade out as Peggy began.

“You knew Peggy?” Steve’s voice was hoarse as he turned to look at the man,   
“Yeah., She was like my aunt, I guess” Tony’s voice wasn’t any better, rough and filled with an awful sadness. “She thinks I’m Howard, it’s hard, ya know? She was basically my mum...” Steve nodded sadly, trying to understand what it felt like to be confused with such a monster of a man by someone so close to you. Tony looked up at Steve, tears in his eyes as he offered a forced smile, his lips were tight and his eyes lacked a certain shine. It was his paparazzi smile, fake and dead- it broke everyone’s hearts to see it be used for them. “Tony, it’s okay not to be okay” Clint offered the suffering brunette who now had silver tracks running down his cheeks...


	5. Holy fuck, Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Description of attempted suicide in this chapter, of that triggers you please do not read. I had this chapter written out but I forgot to save it so I tried my best to get one out today however it probably won’t be my best work

There was a difference between Iron man, Tony Stark and Tony. Iron man was powerful and popular, no insecurities just pur anger channeled into a fight, Tony Stark was cocky that guy that you’d hate in real life but watching him on TV, insulting people was amazing, he wasn’t popular, he was someone people loved to hate, he was someone the media easily turned on and then there was Tony he was real, insecure a man suffering from PTSD and panic attacks, he was that small abused child. It was only now, as his secrets were spilled, his privacy violated that the Team realised the difference. Watching, Tony sob and shake was a sight that left everyone in a state of horrified shock.  _How could that man that could respond to anything be the same man crying, huddled on the floor?_ Steve wasn’t taking the memories well either, that was his friend- a man he had so often compared Tony to- abusing a child. He knew Tony suffered from depression or at least something, he’d spent enough time in the lab trying to convince the man to eat or sleep or do _anything_ other than work himself to death.Natasha had always known on some level that Tony’s childhood hadn’t been perfect, he had quirks, from the way he held himself to the alcoholism, it was apparent he had issues. 

Steve was close to punching something when the colours changed and swirled around him again, this time the Tony they were shown was older  _seventeen?_ He had patchy stubble growing across his face, dark circles around his darker eyes and his hair was messy, grease making it shone in the light. The lanky teenager was stood in front of sink, in what appeared to be a small bathroom. His hands were clutching a bottle of what appeared to be painkillers, Steve could merely watch in shock as Tony poured as many as could fit into his mouth and swallow. He stared in shock as he friend sobbed and sank to the floor, an apologising, trembling mess. It must have been at least 20 minutes before a girl walked into the bathroom, her full lips in a disappointed frown as she took in the condition of her  _probably_ boyfriend. “Tony, for God’s sake get up- I can’t deal with your shit right now. First you cheat on me and then you pull another publicity stunt?” She spat at her  _definitely_ boyfriend. The brunette whispered as her pink claws yanked at his bicep, trying to pull him up. “Fine be a whiny baby then, I’m gonna call Rhodey to pick you up- we’re through.” She hissed as she left the room. Tears were now pooling on the floor and it didn’t stop growing until a taller man stepped into the small room, the man’s face was scrunched in concern as Tony began to talk, “I didn’ wan’ it I swear, Rhode’. I said no I swea’ she put somethin’ in my drin’” the trembling form of a man managed to slur and the man  _Rhodey_ allowed a tear to slip from his dark eyes. “I know Tony, I know.” He whispered as he hugged the man and the white walls failed back into the welcomed metal. 

Shame flooded the geniuses’ system as he realised what his closest friends had just had to watch, they had to watch him give in, cave in to the want, they had witnessed his weakness. Tony was trapped in a haze of self-loathing, his father’s words, the public's cruel gaze and of course Steve’s cruel insults bounced around his head. Steve was  _The_ Captain America, soft blue eyes, kind smiles, perfect tan skin- his was the man everyone loved, including Tony. Steve brought down sandwich after sandwich, he was kind. When Tony awoke from a nightmare, panting and he made his way to the kitchen only to find Steve already there with the same haunted look in his eyes, steaming cup of coffee in his hands, he understood. He saved lives all day and did so with no mistakes, no blood on his hands, he was a hero. Tony shook himself out of his own thoughts, Steve was a good man, too good to be brought down by a suicidal,PTSD ridden fool. So he could suck it up, lie about his feelings, pretend his father's words don’t haunt him, pretend he doesn’t blame himself for every missed opportunity. He could suck it up even when Steve acted concerned, even when those beautiful eyes met his for a second too long, he could stop pretending that Steve could ever love a broken shell of man...


	6. Give this man a hug

Tony was completely unresponsive, brown eyes glazed over, silent tears streaming down his pale cheeks. It created a painful ache in the team’s heart, the usually vibrant man with the signature cocky smirk reduced to a panicking mess and they weren’t even able to hold him. Memories flooded their senses, a monsoon of anxiety, depression and pure, never-ending pain. TIt was difficult to see how a man scorned by everyone that met him, by his own father could make such amazing changes to a world he should hate. Balancing the two contradictory pictures was agonizing, almost impossible

 

**Dark hair slicked back, lips spread in a toothy grin- as he held up his latest invention**

 

 

 

  
_Sobbing in a corner as his father grew closer, shatter beer bottle in hand._

 

 

 

**  
Face scrunched into a frown as he crossed his arms complaining at the choice of movie, again**

 

 

 

_  
Fellow students even teachers jumping at his every mistake ,like sharks. Hungry for anything to prove the small boy’s weakness_

 

 

 

**  
Red and gold armour taking the brunt of the attack as he jumped in front of the fire speeding towards Steve and merely smiling as  
the Doctor announced he would have to stay overnight**

 

 

 

  
_Cuts bleeding, dripping crimson liquid on the tiled floor as he sobbed, choking on raspy breaths_

 

 

The two images of Tiny merged and swirled together, two parallels- an abused, neglected child and an egotistic, selfish billionaire, two people that could never be one yet somehow Tony Stark existed. When he heard the door being forced open again, Steve began pulling on the shackles with renewed vigor- he couldn’t see anymore, it would kill him and most likely Tony too. However, instead of a smirking man bearing a staff in walked Agent Coulson, blue eyes wide with worry as he took in the state of the team. Pale skin. Tears puddling on the cold metal floor, sobs echoing off the looming walls- the world’s greatest heroes, proud and mighty now haunted by their teammate’s past. The agent made his way to Tony but was soon halted as the smaller man flinched and a whimper escaped his lips. The engineer’s black hair was covered in sweat and dried blood, his whole body was trembling and he seemed unresponsive to the whispered comforts.   
“What happened here?” The dark haired agent asked as he turned towards Steve.   
“We were shown his memories…” Steve trailed off as he seemed once again forced into a world of anguish  
“Afghanistan?” To which Steve shook his head, leaving the other man with a few questions brewing in his mind but the priority was freeing the team. Metal shackles fell to the floor with a loud crash until all of the team were freed from their chains. Bruce was taken to a separate room for a drug test (a common occurrence when the team were taken hostage) as the rest of the team were taken to be tested for concussions. It only took 5 minutes forTony to be smiling again, it was painful to watch- his eyes were blank and his hands were still shaking yet still he was trying to start an argument with Clint over who had a bigger head wound, the agent didn’t respond to the taunts he on,y sent a concerned glance in the engineers way but seemed to decide against saying anything. The room they had been placed in was plain, white walls, grey chairs it was hard to drown out the fake joy in Tony’s voice, instead it filled the small room, the sound of a pitiful a attempt at being okay was the only sound.

When Bruce was finally freed from being probed he was allowed back to the team. All 6 of them: 2 master assassins, 1 god with an unhealthy pop tart obsession, 1 super soldier and 2 geniuses (one of which turned into a green rage monster). Tony was immediately taken by Bruce, ignoring the flinch, and hugged. Tony was all of a sudden relaxed, all tensed muscles and faked smiles were gone and in that moment the team realised just how human he was, a human twisted by his father, by the media by every horrible misfortune that had been forced on him, and the room was still, silent tears and quiet breaths. Tony had been silenced.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support with this fanfic! The comments and kudos really meant a lot but now I can officially mark this fic as finshed and move onto another project

It took awhile for the team to fit back together, after all secrets as huge as that often left a silence behind them. Breakfasts were filled with knowing glances and gentle touches but no words left anyone’s mouth. It was a Wednesday when they clicked, they had been on a mission that resulted in Clint breaking an arm and Thor with a nasty looking black eye. The team sat on the sofa, laughing as Steve tried to work the TV and pretending to like Natasha’s cookies. They had slowed back together, like a puzzle- a synchronised unit. Tony no longer worked himself into exhaustion to avoid nightmares, he found one of his team members and they talked it out, often resulting in hugs and ‘The Princess Bride’ being played on repeat. No longer were there yelling matches or placing blame. However the most noticeable shift was between Tony and Steve, small smiles, flushed faces and gentle words. The blonde and brunette snuggled on movie nights and always found an excuse to be down there n the lab alone.

It wasn’t until Clint walked in on them in very heated make out session that the relationship was confirmed. The couple had decided to keep or from the media in fear of backlash but now around the tower kisses to the forehead and ‘I love you’s were exchanged. Of course Pepper and Natasha had both claimed to have known it all along. The love in their eyes were clear: brown shining with admiration, blue glowing with curiosity and interest. The two became the power couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. After all one was a man ahead of his time: inventions and gadgets whirling round his brain and one was a man stuck in the past, they slotted together. Of course it wasn’t perfect, Tony still had panic attacks and woke screaming with nightmares but now he wasn’t alone, a man with golden hair pulled him through life with soft smiles and whispered words. The bags beneath the engineers eyes faded, replaced with rosy cheeks and dimples from smiling, all was good


End file.
